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Curiously Carmen

Brown’s Socialhouse – Burnaby

August 1, 2020 Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: There has been an identified COVID-19 case at the Brown’s location in Port Moody in late July. This review is for the Burnaby location. This visit also took place in June when cases were lower. I am responsible and would not go to a restaurant with a known, identified case.

Please stay safe, wear masks, wash your hands and avoid gatherings as cases are rising again.


Brown’s Socialhouse is a restaurant I have yet to try. I would describe it as a mix between Cactus Club/Joey’s/Earl’s and a sports pub. Maybe a sports pub but slightly fancier? Anyways, I digress.

Avocado and I came here for happy hour after finding out that Cactus Club had bumped their happy hour time to 2-5pm and I couldn’t make it that early. Cactus Club is the usual go-to for happy hour, so I guess them moving their time allowed me to try both Joey‘s and now Brown’s for happy hour!

We came to the Brentwood location. They are located in the same building as the Viet Noodle Guy and Sooda, which is on my list still. There is free parking underground and it was easy to navigate.

Hopefully this part won’t matter much a few months later or even next year, but social distance and sanitation practices were pretty good here. Directional arrows, hand sanitizers, tables closed off, staff had masks…. I felt safe.

Social soda: I tried the social soda, which was on their happy hour special. It reminded me of Cactus Club’s peach bellini watered down once you mix the slush around. Because of that, I wouldn’t recommend it. If the drink was smaller, that would probably be better so it tastes less watery.

Social lager: Avocado went with a better choice, their happy hour lager on tap.

Spicy fried chicken and pickles: I wasn’t too sure what to expect for this. Would it be chicken thigh? A mix of chicken wings? To my surprise, these were made with chicken breast and were bite sized nuggets.

They were served piping hot, fresh, and crispy. The chicken could have used more flavour, but I didn’t mind and would happily order it again.

Pork taquitos: The pork taquitos were another item off their happy hour menu. I’ve never had pork taquitos before, so I can’t really compare them to anything.

I liked that the taquitos came with a thicker tortilla that was doughier than your usual tortilla skin. The pork was seasoned well and full of flavour, although I found it to be very salty.

Parmesan garlic fries: The fries were nothing special, just your typical fries with a sprinkle of parmesan and cheese. Compared to the other dishes, I’d skip this one next time.

Crispy cauliflower: We ordered this after all our food came, and it ended up being one of my favourite items! The crispy cauliflower was piping hot and crunchy.

It was served with some parmesan and a delicious jalapeno ranch sauce. I’m not usually one to order cauliflower dishes so I’m glad Avocado suggested this!

All in all, we enjoyed our happy hour experience at Brown’s. The prices were quite reasonable, and the food was not bad. Although it does not beat out Cactus Club or Joey‘s for me, Brown’s is definitely going to be added to my list of happy hour places that I’d go back to.

Browns Socialhouse Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Filed Under: food & drink, happy hour, pub

Shift Kitchen and Tapas Bar

December 20, 2018 Leave a Comment

During our weekend getaway to Sunshine Coast 1.5 years ago (whoops, very late post), one of the restaurants we checked out was Shift Kitchen and Tapas Bar. Why am I writing this post so late? Because a) I thought I wrote about this already but didn’t, and b) I need some content for le blog.

Anyways, Shift Kitchen is a pretty small restaurant in a plaza. It reminded me of Rogue Kitchen in Vancouver, but a shrunken version of it.

Caesar: The boyfriend started off our dinner with a caesar, which he enjoyed.

Chicken strips & salad: I don’t care if people think chicken strips are for kids only, I will still continue to order them! Anyways, my chicken strips were pretty decent. They were a lot better than the ones I ordered at Lighthouse Pub the night before, also on Sunshine Coast.

Burger: The boyfriend ordered a pretty big and filling cheeseburger that he enjoyed. It came with a side of fries too.

Overall, our meal at Shift Kitchen was enjoyable and service was friendly. It had a city vibe which we weren’t looking for because we could get that in Vancouver, but that is not the restaurant’s fault at all. 

Shift Kitchen Tapas Bar Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Filed Under: Canada, food & drink, pub, Sunshine Coast

Tap & Barrel Olympic Village (Re-visit)

August 18, 2018 Leave a Comment

I’ve written about Tap & Barrel in the past, and thought it was finally time for an updated post four years later! The Olympic Village location is one of my top places to go in the summertime because the view is great and it is located in my favourite Vancouver neighbourhood. After eating here, I love taking a walk down the seawall and around the area. If you’re a tourist or showing people around the city, I would recommend this place for their view and vibe.

It can get quite busy here in the summer, especially on the patio. Latte and I came on a weekday evening a bit before 6pm, and there was already a line up for the patio. If you don’t want to wait as long, you can get a spot inside. A month later, I came back here with the boyfriend and we sat inside because it was super hot that evening.

Pineapple and pulled bacon flatbread pizza, $16.95: This came with a good amount of pulled bacon and pineapple, as you can see from the picture! It was delicious, the sweetness of the pineapple balanced out the pulled bacon. I would describe the pulled bacon more like a pulled pork though. I liked how the pizza was not greasy or oily.

Spicy tuna burger, $17.95: This isn’t something I would normally order but it sounded pretty good, so we split this as well. The tuna burger came with seared ahi tuna, sesame lemongrass panko crust, avocado, cucumber, crispy onion, pickled shallots, spicy miso mayo. The burger was not that spicy. Everything in this burger went well together and I’m glad that we got this! Tap and Barrel also has good fries so we enjoyed this immensely too.

While the view and food was great, the service was lacking which is what I find the only bad thing about Tap and Barrel. It was hard to flag down our waiter and we didn’t get much service during our dinner. It was a struggle to get our drinks filled and to get the bill. The patio was completely full so I understand the lack of service, but I think they could benefit more by adding a couple more waiters. I would still come back for the atmosphere and food though. Compared to CRAFT which is across the street, Tap and Barrel has better prices and also a water view.

Yay!

Tap & Barrel - Olympic Village Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Filed Under: food & drink, pub

Food: Original Joe’s (Cambie & Broadway)

April 11, 2018 Leave a Comment

I first discovered Original Joe’s a couple of years ago, when some friends invited me to Wings Wednesday at their downtown location. We ended up going a few more times over the past two years. Since then, I’ve gone to Original Joe’s on Broadway and Cambie here and there after work. It’s about time that I write a review on it!

Wings special, 50% 0ff – approx. $6/plate: I took Latte here for Wings Wednesday. We shared the dill pickle wings and barbeque wings. Dill pickle wings sound kind of weird, but they are actually really good. The flavour oddly works and it is one of the most popular flavours when my friends and I came.

The barbeque wings are pretty standard. You can always rely on the wings to be juicy and meaty. It’s a pretty good deal on Wednesdays!

Hummus and veggie platter, $10.75: To counteract the wings, we ordered some healthy hummus and veggie platter. I was quite surprised at how much veggies and naan bread it came with, and would probably order it again. The veggies were fresh and crunchy and the hummus was good as well!

Garlic cheese toast, $7.00: What dreams are made of! Garlic bread smothered with a variety of different cheeses. It was so extremely cheesy and totally worth the $7. They do not play around with their garlic cheese toast.

Yay!

Original Joe's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Filed Under: food & drink, pub

Romer’s Burger Bar (Two visits)

October 13, 2017 Leave a Comment

The boyfriend and I were leaving Richmond, and were in the mood for happy hour. The weather was warm, sun was shining, it was a weekend, and we had just finished our errands = all perfect reasons to have happy hour!

I remembered an app named Brewhound which shows you daily specials for restaurants in the Lower Mainland. I highly recommend you download the app, as it will come in handy if you’re not sure on where to eat. Btw, not sponsored… they don’t even know I exist haha.

One of the closest options was Romer’s and we wanted to check out the developing River District, so off we went! I remember seeing this place on Dine Out, but that was the furthest of my knowledge about this place.

This post is a combination of two visits!

Parking in River District was free, and was not a problem at all. Romer’s was easy to spot as everything else was just apartments and townhouses.

We wanted a patio seat but was told they were all reserved. It was a bit stuffy in the restaurant. Seeing how hot that day was, there could have been more AC.

I would describe the atmosphere in Romers as casual.

Truffle fries, $6.95: The scent of the truffle oil slowly wafting to our table was amazing. Mmmm… truffle oil…. The fries were delicious, crunchy and fresh. We would definitely order this again!
Cheesy spinach kale dip, $9.95: The boyfriend was in the mood for some spinach kale dip so this was the second dish. Probably the best way to eat vegetables.

I couldn’t eat it but the dip looked really good, and he really enjoyed it. It was full of blended spinach, kale, and was SUPER cheesy. The chips were also pretty good and tasted better than your average chips. They were thicker than usual, which might be why?

Our second visit was in mid-September!  The weather happened to be warm enough for the patio still! We saw some cute dogs trotting along the trail, hehe 🙂

On this visit, the boyfriend ordered the same spinach dip so I won’t talk about it again.
Root beer: I thought this was worth mentioning as they only sell craft root beer here. It is lighter in colour, but I didn’t like the taste (I normally love fountain root beer).

It reminded me of cough syrup but perhaps it’s an acquired taste. The boyfriend on the other hand loved it.
Burger bowl: I felt like something lighter that day and decided to give this a try. For an extra $2, you can go bunless and turn your burger into a bowl that includes avocado, hard boiled egg, iceberg lettuce, and corn/bean salad.

I did not regret it because it was delicious and fresh! The avocado is hidden behind the patty. I would definitely consider getting the burger bowl again. The only con was that the patty was on the dry side, although the flavour was there.

Overall, our two visits to Romer’s were brief but pleasant. Romer’s is a good place to go if you want to escape the city, but still remain in the city if that makes any sense? The River District feels a lot different than most other neighbourhoods in Vancouver.

We would definitely come back a third time if we were in the area!

Yay!

Romer's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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Filed Under: food & drink, pub

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Hi and welcome to Curiously Carmen! I am Carmen, the girl behind the blog. You can read more about me here!

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